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Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Ald. Fioretti Highlights 2013 Achievements in Newsletter

While Alderman Fioretti might be on his way out of our neighborhood (who knows what the deal is with that), he still presides over the majority of our neighborhood - we think.

Anyway, he recently sent out a 2013 recap email newsletter which was rather lengthy. Some stuff was interesting, some stuff not so much. He touted achievements on Eduction, Jobs, Infrastructure, Legislation, Events, Giving, Parks, CHA and the "Progressive Caucaus" that he was part of. You can read this all here.

The things that were most interesting to us were some of the updates on parks:

Anderson Park, to be located at 16th Street and Wabash, will include a dog-friendly area and performance stage. This park was named for Fred Anderson, an international jazz artist who owned the Velvet Lounge in the South Loop for many years, and contributed to the life and arts in the area by fostering many young musicians. Construction is expected to be completed in 2014.

The Corps of Engineers has agreed to fund the creation of a wildlife area on the southern half of Northerly Island, with bike paths and areas to camp and enjoy nature. This project is beginning, and should be completed in 2014.

The southeast corner of Grant Park will be renovated, including a new skate park, seating areas and landscaping.

We've seen some solid movement, despite the cold, at the 16th street park. Also good to read some acknowledgment of the Northerly Island and Grant Park plans.

Also interesting was some of the updates on the controversial Jones College Prep:

I am pleased to note that a beautiful new Jones High School building was completed on State just west of Congress. As a condition for my approval of the funding for the building construction, CPS agreed to allow students who live nearby to apply to attend the new Jones. 75 students will be enrolled in Jones through this program each year. Jones will be open for neighborhood events and activities like swimming and sports. A new artificial turf field is also being constructed as part of the Jones project for the use of Jones students at National Teachers Academy, and this field will also be available for neighborhood use.

We weren't aware of the artificial turf field that was being constructed.

Some good stuff happened in 2013 and hopefully some solid momentum for 2014.